Justice Pamela Beckles recently ruled in a matter brought by former Bar president Tariq Khan versus Vonda Pile that compulsory membership in the Barbados Bar Association is unconstitutional. The Bar Association has signaled that the matter will be appealed. The following Barbados Underground blog which highlighted the matter was posted in April of 2013.

Non Membership in the Barbados Bar Association Does Not Preclude a Lawyer’s Right to Practice Law

BU has been provided with a copy of the letter dated April 4, 2013 by which the Chief Justice finally advised the new Queens Counsel that he had received the Letters Patent that the GG had executed and sent to the CJ some weeks previously, instructing that they be delivered. The GG had also officially informed the new Queens Counsel himself of their appointment, from which time they had the right to put the letters QC after their names. Do not expect Chief Justice Gibson to offer an explanation for the delay.

BU has also been provided with a legal opinion on the matter of mandatory membership of the Barbados Bar Association, on which it has been argued, in essence, that there is a requirement that attorneys who are certified to practice law in Barbados must also be members of the Barbados Bar Association. BU’s legal opinion states that, as such an Act breaches the Constitution, it is a nullity ab initio, as indeed is any law which breaches the Constitution. Otherwise, the Constitution, which requires a two third majority of the House to change it, would be held hostage to the much lower standard of a simple act of parliament, which requires merely a majority. This would compromise the rights of Bajans and infringe their liberties. Pursued, it could also potentially lead away from democracy to dictatorship.

Thus, the list produced recently by the Bar Association of those counsel who have not paid their membership fees, is not relevant to right to practice law. As long as those attorneys have certification (and a complete list is available from the Official Gazette updated yearly) those attorneys have the right to practice that cannot be gainsaid by the Bar Association.

The Bar Association list has been generally interpreted and presented in the Fourth Estate and the blogs as being a denial of rights to practice by those attorneys and BU posts this clarification. The suggestion or implication that these attorneys, provided they have current practice certificates, are not eligible to practice law is potentially legally actionable.

They already have no regulatory body for lawyers on the island who do as they like to the vulnerable, weak and unaware, and all of it criminal..

..the Bar Association is a dues collector and nothing more…while harboring, protecting and enabling lawyers who are criminals, in their Cartel of Criminality against the islands’ people…

.there is no regulation…the Disciplinary Committeee….what Disciplinary Committee???…there is none…how do criminals duscipline each other.

..now this.

BTW..what’s up with the Personal Injury cases at the Supreme Court that they have not been put on the Docket/Calendar for hearing since last October, some even before…one year is too long to wait for court dates to have these Civil matters heard particularly when the Claimants are INJURED…some severely, some elderly…like in over the age of 60..

What is Chief Justice Marston Gibson and his Judges doing about this horrible state of affairs in their brand new taxpayer funded buildings.

Let’s hope David Simmons, former Chief Justice, is not being allowed to review these cases for his business partner Peter Harris at CGI Insurance to see how many injured people Harris can get away with NOT compensating…they have already maliciously delayed these cases over and over for years, some for over 15 years.with the help of equally malicious, unethical and heartless JUDGES…

…this is a very different ballgame,.especially where the eldery are involved.

Ah forgot to mention, I will know when these personal injury cases are being screwed with in the Supreme Court by the usual suspects and will post that information as it becomes necessary. And keep on posting as long as the beasts who believe themselves untouchable. ..allows me.

And if any Personal Injury files belonging to Claimants goes missing, especially of the ELDERLY..I will be very sure to post on that too..

This decades old pattern of waiting for the Elderly and their Beneficiaries with Estates and the Elderly with Personal Injury cases to DIE so they get NOTHING must be highlighted more..

.I understand even one wretched Judge who was newly appointed at the time. claimed in open Court that it is better these Claimants/injured people die instead of going to Court and winning their cases because then the insurance companies will have to pay out much less like a little 50,000 to the families of the deceased..,instead of paying more for serious injuries to the injured living…

…that one sounded just like the lowlife Fruendel who appointed them..

.I wonder if it ever occurred to this jackass for a Judge…that the quicker the cases are processed and resolved in the Supreme Court…the much less the insurance company pays in compensation.

…..but if CGI or any other insurance company is going to drag a case on indefinitely and have it adjourned for 9 or 10 years straight in court with the help of their slimy lawyers and hateful Judges….naturally, given the extent of the injuries to the Claimant, the compensation will skyrocket..OVER TIME..because of the unnecessary adjournments and deliberate delays….if they cannot find a way to derail the case BEFORE. . as is their normal procedures in that filthy pit of a Court.

So yall see the mentalities of the riff raff for Judges sitting on the Supreme Court Bench..

..ya see why CCJ would not want not one of these heartless beasts for Judges in Barbados sitting on their Bench.

And look who is waiting for these injured people to die off:

Many lawyers who are old and decript looking themselves;

Peter Harris of CGI Insurance who is sickly like hell, who can die off at anytime BEFORE he reaches age 60 because that runs in his family, unless he takes care of himself;

Leslie Haynes with his bloated, gassy looking self who can pop off and die at any time himself;

David Simmons with his HAUNTED looking self who hopely lives another 25 years to remember all he has done to destroy the lives of his fellow Bajans for his insurance company buddies, using the Supreme Court;

And a whole gaggle of greedy, self absorbed lawyers AND JUDGES who do not want to see people who go before the Supreme Court get what is theirs OR be duly compensated for theur injuries..

…these are the types of repulsive BEASTS who have overseen this court for over 50 years…generation after generation of lawyers and Judges who are ALL members of Bar Association..and who disenfranchised their own people every step of the way…until the Court has become useless, even to them.

Ah wonder if Dale Marshall told the US Ambassador all of that when he was pretending not to know why the Supreme Court was collapsing under its own weight or how to fix it, ah wonder if he told her that he too engages in all the above crimes against Beneficiaries of Estates AND injured people.

These days Harris has taken most of his personal Injury cases from outside lawyers, some were given up because lawyers are distancing themselves from the approaching train wreck, so inhouse lawyers at CGI are handling most of these cases, while sleazy Haynes is still handling some..

As long as these beasts continue to allow me by giving me all the ammunition I need to post about an expose them…I will, so thanks in advance.

There are 1,100 lawyers in Barbados. Non of them qualified for the CCJ so far.

We all know why: Too much pride and no industry. A new Supreme Court needing a proper wash since the locals are neither able nor willing to clean. A Chief Justice putting “family and live” above national duty and the common good.

No regulatory boards or bodies for lawyers OR doctors exists on the island either , it’s a free for all, they do as they like with absolutely NO OVERSIGHT..

The only reason they have quieted down significantly is because the Blogs scare the hell out of them, but they still mistreat and steal from the people, especially those in parliament and their business partners, friends, families and associates all armed with small island power, thinking no one is noticing because they know…no one can do much of anything to them, short of finishing them off..

Does that ruling mean any medical doctor can sell his medical advice and applications without being a member of BAMP in good financial standing?

Is it unconstitutional for bush doctors and others peddling alternative medicine to the ‘traditional hocus pocus (practiced under an oath sworn to twin serpents’) to offer their services for a fee to the public?

Would the pending marijuana apothecaries now be able to sell their dispensing services without being in breach of the Constitution?

What about accountants and engineers being forced to joining ICAB and BAPE in order to offer their ‘dying’ skills to the public?

Also, this is what the Judge should have ruled and stipulated ….that this body be independent and that all persons practicing Law on this island MUST subscribe to the authority and ethical guidance of this independent disciplinary committee.

How can a lawyer SERIOUSLY expect to enjoy the privileges that our LAWS provide to these scamps – while not subscribing to ANY form of oversight? …How indeed can ANY professional – from a doctor to a serious waste hauler expect this?

This is ultimately what defines a modern society…. professionalism at all levels – guided by professional ethics.

The ONLY problem being discussed here is the ineptitude, ineffectiveness, unprofessionalism and mismanagement of the damn Bar Association….and the pedestrian thinking of this judge…
But this is a wholesale issue in this BB place.

RE Does that ruling mean any medical doctor can sell his medical advice and applications without being a member of BAMP in good financial standing?

YES! BECAUSE BAMP IS NOT THE BARBADOS MEDICAL COUNCIL

IT IS THE BARBADOS MEDICAL COUNCIL THAT REGULATES WHO PRACTICES MEDICINE IN BARBADOS– NOT BAMP

BAMP IS EFFECTIVELY A TRADE UNION AND HAS AN IMPORTANT FOR ITS ROLE IN SECURING MEDICAL INSURANCE ETC

AGAIN THE JACKASS JUDGED WITHOUT THE FACTS LOL LOL

LISTEN TO HIM NAH DOWN THE WICKET AND DE PERFECTLY PITCHED BALL TURNS A WAY

WHAT A SET UP IN MY ORIGINAL POST LOL

How can a lawyer SERIOUSLY expect to enjoy the privileges that our LAWS provide to these scamps – while not subscribing to ANY form of oversight? …How indeed can ANY professional – from a doctor to a serious waste hauler expect this?

@ Georgie Porgie September 18, 2018 9:59 AM
“RE Does that ruling mean any medical doctor can sell his medical advice and applications without being a member of BAMP in good financial standing?

YES! BECAUSE BAMP IS NOT THE BARBADOS MEDICAL COUNCIL

IT IS THE BARBADOS MEDICAL COUNCIL THAT REGULATES WHO PRACTICES MEDICINE IN BARBADOS– NOT BAMP”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Does the “BARBADOS MEDICAL COUNCIL” (BMC) have Constitutional standing like the various Services Commissions?

What’s the difference (in the eyes of the Constitution) to the right to earn a living between a doctor who went to the University of Edinburgh or the UWI and a man or woman who went to the Congo or Haiti to learn ‘bush’ medicine?

Is the membership of the Bar or BAMP Or BAPE a separate and voluntary thing apart from being qualified/certified to do the said job?

let say i joined the BAR BAPE and BAMP and was a fully paid up member of the three association, etc. Hiowever, decided to resign/terminate my membership AS I did not pay my membership fee to any of the three organisations. But certification wise i was up to date with everything.

Why cant practise my job as i am qualified and certified however not a member of the association. As a member of BAMP i can misdiagnose a patient; likewise as a non-member is can misdiagnose. As a member of the BAR i can engage in unprofessional behaviour as i can as a non-member of the BAR. Likewise as a engineer etc. I know you see my drift.

The member ship thing must be more than a club or (union for lawyers) thingy. It must mean something to the enduser/customer/client of the service provider. Unfortunate the BAR is seen as a PUB; some where you go to waste time after a hard day in the office/court teking shyte from someone. The BAR is not seen as doing much to help the afflicted and thus we can do without it. Closer is the dawning of street justice as it may become fashionable in these disputes.

What some don’t understand is that lawyers are officers of the Court and are subject to the contents of the Constitution because they are under the umbrella of the Legal Services Commission of which the Chief Justice is Chairman…that is what the Constitution in it’s present form outlines..

A prime example is Leslie Haynes trying to force himself to be one of the heads, if I remember, of the Electoral and Boundaries Commission during the election….the GG rightly and legally ignored his unethical tail..because he is an officer of the court…what is he doing on the Commission trying to manipulate the outcome of the election..the Constitution is very specific about what the members of the legal services can and cannot do…

….but none of them actually adhere to the Constitution anyway, because it is not wrapped tightly enough..

.I made it my business to research the Constitution to see just how many crimes these officers of the court…read LAWYERS and JUDGES…commit against the vulnerable and unaware…using the Supreme Court, and get away with …without any consequences…because their is no oversight for any of them…

@ sirfuzzy
Unlike the BAMP, engineers, etc the lawyers have their minimum fee structure and their special status protected BY LAW. It is why we are FORCED to use lawyers to do simple tasks that any idiot can do.

Also, There are Specific Registration Boards for doctors, engineers architects etc which (are supposed to) exercise disciplinary control over these professions.
It is Bushie’s understanding that the Bar Association, through the disciplinary committee, is the body legally responsible for discipline among the legal profession.(one wonders how these lawyers achieved this special status…)

Allow them to opt out of the Bar ….and there effectively become rogue agents….

@ WARU
Bushie was under the impression that the Legal Services Commission was responsible for appointment of legal officers in the Public service – such as the DPP, Cj etc….

I leave out things sometimes because I consider them all to be full of shit..since there is no one to police them and they do not do their jobs effectively, but you can guarantee that the DPP, CJ, lawyers etc all fall under the same umbrella..

Bushman..ya really gotta read that Privy Council created Barbados Constitution, it gives real insight on what its contents and what is missing.

in saying that..had it been any different..Justice Beckles could never have come up with that Judgement re lawyers being made mandatory members of Bar Association… being UNCONSTITUTIONAL..on this she is actually right..says the Constitution..

Just like Grenville making up some crap to bind his party members into some madness he created when the Constitution does not even recognize POLITICAL PARTIES…so just as lawyers cannot be bound to the Bar and faced to be members, Grenville cannot FORCE his political candidates to be imprisoned to one political party…freedom of association..

“…BU’s legal opinion states that, as such an Act breaches the Constitution, it is a nullity ab initio, as indeed is any law which breaches the Constitution.

Otherwise, the Constitution, which requires a two third majority of the House to change it, would be held hostage to the much lower standard of a simple act of parliament, which requires merely a majority.

This would compromise the rights of Bajans and infringe their liberties.

Pursued, it could also potentially lead away from democracy to dictatorship…”

The opinion being referenced is as i understand it

“…the matter of mandatory membership of the Barbados Bar Association…”

more specifically that “…there is a requirement that attorneys who are certified to practice law in Barbados must also be members of the Barbados Bar Association…”

So for the mandatory condition to exist, I see a Venn Diagram with a big circle and a little circle inside that big circle like what is shown below

In my ten year old mind (wunna dun know who tell me that heheheh) it would appear that if the courts of the land rendered that as a decision, WITHOUT THE AUTHORITY TO DO SO, then it suggests that this is a ruling that is void.

Additionally, what becomes really apparent to me is that when de ole man would have written 3 times to the Bar Association on various matters one of which referring to one of the same Bar Association top dogs, the fact is that they nor the Disciplinary Committee? really did not have any power over the miscreants and de ole man was indulging in what was technically “a waste foop”

Do you ladies and gentlemen realise the anarchy that we have been sowing sowing here?

We are and have been saying to the Public that irrespective of the nature of the deceit and robbery that we are experiencing at the hands of these merry highwaymen WE HAVE NO RECOURSE especially if the Bar Association has no real power, the Disciplinary Committee is a lair (and additional layer) crooks and scamps.

And to go to the police is a waste foop and to go to the courts also brings no recourse because you cant get a lawyer to prosecute another lawyer in a court with judges who were previously lawyers!

Tron…is that what Beckles is and how she got appointed to the bench by Fruendel…well, DLP is not likely to be returned to do crap like that again and once BLP is severed …their days for the yardfowl, nepotism crap will also come to an end…

…why can’t they just all do their jobs as paid by taxpayers…and forget pleasing their political masters.

I hope it does not take EXPOSING all these Judges who don’t think they work for the public and instead work for the idiots of parliament who appointed them, but who do not pay them, outside of the corruption factor…to finally get them to do their jobs..

As things stand, certain people are really pissed off and Judges will no longer be given a free pass if they continue to aid others in ruining the lives of people who go before them seeking justice…

justice is not only for those who could pay bribes…that is not justice and has nothing to do with law.

Judges should be elected BY THE PEOPLE and not appointed by corrupt ministers..

BTW…Grenville should go to jail for trying to imprison and entrap his political candidates into his political party…when the Constitution does NOT even recognize political parties…never did….and I really searched that document when Jeff brought it to our attention.

…so what the slimy BLP and DLP have been doing for 52 years…. creating yardfowls and appointing them into these corrupt posts to practice CORRUPTION..paid for by taxpayers…is totally unconstitutional..

I believe the CCJ also warned them all, including the lawyers, that what they were doing at the Supreme Court in Barbados..has nothing to do with the law, so go figure, they saw enough rot from the lack of Judgements and ineffective Judgements and all these uncalled for delays and no timely decisions…from the Supreme Court;

..and enough idiocy and unprofessional lack of ethics and morals from the likes of Haynes, Smith and Gollop when they tried to force their corrupt selves and disgusting behaviour on the CCJ, to recognize that what is being practiced at the Supreme Court has nothing to do with Justice and Law.

And they still do not get the message, so I am waiting to see what it will take to get positive change, who will have to intervene to end the destruction..

(quote)It is Bushie’s understanding that the Bar Association, through the disciplinary committee, is the body legally responsible for discipline among the legal profession.(one wonders how these lawyers achieved this special status…) (quote)

I understand your comments now.

I reminds me of the corporate ranting about “self regulation” and “free market” forces. They often espouse the “self regulation” thingy because the eating or feeding is good at the trough. However when the bottom falls out of everything we see that “self regulation” ranting is a mere farce. Every man or woman for him/herself and if possible let John/Jane Public pay for righting the broken trough.

Its the hen being watched by the “foxx” at the entrance of the hen house. Calling the “fox” to investigate the “foxx” that is looking suspicious in the neighbourhood.

Self regulation never really works well; just try observing self regulation at a major four road intersection in Barbados when the trafiic lights are not functioning. The tractor trailer driver get soo much more respect/right of way than the Suzuki Alto. Size/clout does matter.

Now can we trust the lawyer class to set up a working disciplinary body to do such work in a transparent way where punishment etc will be quick in coming etc with out bias to all including judges and rookie lawyers etc . Llolololo I think not, cuss lawyer writing rules that other lawyer cant get around is like dressing up as a ham in December in Barbados and don’t expect to get an invitation as “dinner” somewhere..

We would like to live in Hope (St. Lucy) but that is still under the jurisdiction of the laws of Barbados and its crony lawyers..

Mottley made the announcement of plans for a Barbados mMoney Pilot this morning at Bitt Central Bank Meets Blockchain: From The Ground Up event at Hilton Hotel.(Quote)

This could end in tears. I wonder if the talented, highly experienced Mr Adams had anything to do with this? Where is the regulator? I should not b, but am always disappointed when talking abut regulation with Bajans. On another blog, on man claimed he had an LLM and had studied financial regulation and that affordability has nothing to do with regulation. this just ten years after the worst financial crisis in modern economic history caused by sub-prime lending. You just cannot imagine the folly among the so-called educated classes in Barbados.
Is the prime minister going to do a risk assessment on crypto-currencies? Who is going to be the regulator? What about third-party underwriting? Will the taxpayer be the lender of last resort for these unproven assets? Why has there not been a public debate?

(quote) is the prime minister going to do a risk assessment on crypto-currencies? Who is going to be the regulator? What about third-party underwriting? Will the taxpayer be the lender of last resort for these unproven assets? Why has there not been a public debate? (quote)

CLICO, SAGICOR. FSC. One of these things in not like the other, which one is different; do you know?

If you can remember Sesame Street it may ring a bell.

It was a published that the FSC is not capable of proper oversight of the insurance industry in Barbados. We got a regulatory than cant regulate. Do we need Regulatory Viagra? The FSC cannot “cut the mustard”?

So will there be another CLICO type fiasco. Will “mMoney” mean “moMoney” for a few and mo-bills for others? We have regulators on paper. I am sure the CBB is not up to the task; or they will soon find out.

But we live in Hope that something will not go badly for all(me and u) concerned.

You guys know that Mmoney is currently accepted by nearly 300 vendors already, right? There are Mmoney transactions being carried out as we speak without a regulatory framework. The government is just merely playing catch up with what is already happening in the private sector.

Someone on this blog (I think it was PLT) said a few weeks ago that he uses a Mmoney wallet almost daily.

Typically, professionals are REQUIRED to become licensed in order to practice their profession. The other professions mostly have a legislated BOARD – set up by Law to oversee and enforce this requirement. That board also monitors membership and can deal with complaints, ethical issues etc. They then have SEPARATE associations.

Somehow, the lawyers managed to get THEIR professional association to be recognised instead of such an independent board so this gave that association an advantage in that lawyers had to join the Bar in order to be registered to practice (admitted to the Bar)

These people are so greedy that now, in addition to NOT having two separate bodies to join and pay (like other professionals) …and in addition to having the law specify MINIMUM pay scales that the public HAVE to pay them…. they now want to avoid joining ANY professional body AT ALL…
As you say, this would mean that they would be like loose cannons doing dixie bout the place …and answerable to NO ONE.

If the shiite Bar and disciplinary committee had ANY sense of professionalism, not only would there be FAR fewer complaints against lawyers, but the shiite lawyers would have a LOT more respect for the association – and not be seeking to avoid joining….

EVERYTHING about Barbados is shoddy….. and these lawyers have been leading the way for a LONG time now…

Our financial regulation is missing in action. I do not believe it is because people do not want regulation, but because they do not fully understand regulation, not even the lawyers. Regulation is not part of law, it is a hybrid between policy and law. Earlier today I was trying to explain financial regulation to someone who was busy telling me he had a LLM in law and a diploma in financial regulation and advises developing countries.
This is typical of the Bajan disease, mistaking qualifications for knowledge. In an unregulated bandit country, the high risk is not only moneylaundering, but robbing ordinary, innocent retail investors.
The prime minister must stop obsessing over PR and concentrate on policy. All this is going to end in tears.

Unfortunately; all that is moral is not lawfully and all that is lawfully is not moral. Regulation maybe the man/person in the middle; bridging lawfully/legal with moral. Where it seeks to bring about a fair society.

Piece..that is your Latin Translation …practicing corruption in parliament and in the Judiciary is also UNCONSTITUTIONAL…but lawyers, JUDGES, ministers and all their co-conspiracors have been doing it for decades anyway and at the expense and at an extremely heavy cost to bajan taxpayers for decades…so I don’t know what to tell ya..

Ah know none of them in 1966 drafted the Constitution…not one bajan Black lawyer, lawmaker, minister…not one…but the government has been infested with lawyers from 1966…and not one of them knew that mandatiory membership to the bar association was “invalid from the outset” and it has been in that document before 1966…..so what does that tell us….lol

What it does prove to us is they never read the Constitution and if they did, they never understood it…but it confirms…that none of them drafted or ratified the Constitution…it truly is a document created by the British just for those damn dummies in parliament, bar association and the judiciary..

I await version 2 of the Constitution…lol cause they are damn well intellectually incapable of drafting and ratifying one themselves to benefit the majority population…that I know.

Hal Austin
You have once again exposed your azz to ridicule.You are supposed to be a journalist at best or a newspaper reporter at worse.You are not qualified to explain financial regulation to anybody with a modicum of common sense.Why dont you stick to your ‘profession’ and leave the explanation of financial regulation to the experts,those qualified and honoured after professional examination.

Hal Austin
A while ago you mentioned you were part of a guest list invited by the BBC Caribbean Service and which list included Marion Williams,the Governor of the Central Bsnk of Barbados.No wonder the BBC closed down that programme.How insulting to the Governor!